Amazon Kindle 2 hands-on review

It’s been nearly five months since we scooped Amazon’s Kindle 2 and earlier this week, after what seemed like an eternity for anxious e-book fans, Amazon finally began shipping its new reader. We unboxed it for you this past Tuesday but you know we couldn’t leave it at that — it’s full-on review time! Leading up to the Kindle 2 we’ve been through a Sony PRS-505, an Amazon Kindle 1 and an Irex Iliad so we had high hopes for Amazon’s new Jesus-reader. Is it up to snuff? Did it fall flat on its slim, sexy, 3G-connected face? Grab a cup of coffee and a snack pack, then hit the jump to find out.

Hardware and Aesthetics

To kick things off, let’s start with the guts. The Kindle 2 packs a 532 MHz ARM-11 processor, a 3.7 V 1530 mAh non-removable lithium polymer battery, a Sprint compatible EV-DO antenna and 2 GB of internal storage. The choice to abandon the external SD card slot and the removable battery of the Kindle 1 are a source of contention amongst current Kindle owners and rightfully so. Yes, the internal memory of the Kindle 2 can hold close to 1,500 books and the battery does promise longer life but people paying $360 for a reader don’t want to be limited — especially when the first generation Kindle didn’t have such limitations. You can’t carry around your whole library if your collection exceeds 2GB and the device is only useful for the life of the battery (unless you want to fork over $60 to Amazon to replace it).

For the average user who upgrades devices regularly, these limitations are nothing to be concerned about of course, but to the power user or pack rat, the lack of an SD card slot and replaceable battery may be a deal breaker. Just a warning to all of you “I am not going to buy the Kindle 2 because it does not have an SD card slot or replaceable battery” folks, the allure of this sexy new device may soften your stance on this issue so don’t handle a Kindle 2 as you may not be able to resist. And so we come to the design…

Fresh out the box, the Kindle 2 is a gorgeous looking device — rounded edges with a brushed aluminum back, and ohhhh so thin. Sorry original Kindle fans, we don’t mean to be offensive but the Kindle 2 brings some style to what had previously been a very clumsy-looking device. Despite its thin profile, the Kindle 2 feels very solid and not at all flimsy. At the top of the device, you’ll find a sliding power switch and a 3.5mm audio jack. The left side of the device has two small slots for a cover (optional purchase and not included in the box) while the right side has a volume rocker toward the top of the device. The bottom has a mini-USB port and small reset button. The back is brushed aluminum with a non-removable cover — no cracking this Kindle open unless you’ve got some tools on deck. The only items of interest on the backside are the two speakers at the bottom and the device information like the serial number, FCC ID, etc.

The front of the device is where all the action takes place of course. In the center you have a 6-inch, 800×600 e-ink display touting 16 shades of gray. On the left hand side you’ll find the previous page button and a next page button. What an improvement these buttons are, by the way! Gone are the paddle-like Kindle 1 buttons that would navigate pages with the slightest accidental touch. With the new style buttons, you have to push firmly on the edge of the button closest to the screen; there will be no accidental page turns from simply picking up or putting down the device. It is a bit awkward at first to push the inner portion of the button but you quickly get used to it and appreciate the feeling of control with regards to page navigation. Finally, at the bottom you’ll find the bubbly QWERTY keyboard which is an improvement over the Kindle 1 “chicklet” keyboard for sure. It’s most definitely not the greatest keyboard we’ve come across but it’s fine for searching and typing brief notes.

The right hand side of the device has the menu button and back button, both of which flank the 5-way directional control which may be the Achilles heel of the Kindle 2. It is an improvement over the scroll button and the funky vertical navigation display on the Kindle 1 but the 5-way controller itself leaves much to be desired. It is sturdy and has a nice satisfactory click but it’s small. Too small. It is fairly easy to move up and down but moving left and right can be tricky at times. We’re not talking “throw this thing out the window because it’s impossible to use,” but people with any dexterity problems will likely be less than happy with the performance of the controller. A slightly larger d-pad with a center button/click may have been a better choice.

Above the 5-way controller, you have another next page button and finally the home button. The button layout is quite comfortable over all, and you can perform just about any common function without having to shift your grip. The exception is probably the previous page button on the left which is placed a bit too high on the device for our taste. Despite the two main flaws we mentioned however, the Kindle 2 is definitely a winner in terms of look, feel and overall design. It is not perfect but it is pretty close.

Display

Amazon made a huge deal out of the Kindle 2’s snazzy new 16-shade display so our expectations were sky-high. Unfortunately without having another reader to do a side-by-side comparison (we’ve long-since ditched the Kindle 1 and other readers), it is difficult to rate the overall quality of screen as it relates to its predecessor or competition. As a stand alone device however, the text on the screen is crisp and the images have a nice appearance. The display response is definitely spry it supports the dynamic rendering needed for the on-screen cursor. Page to page refreshes are also quite snappy, though you do get the typical e-ink inverting and flashing when you switch pages (albeit very briefly). You really only notice it during the first 10-15 minutes of usage when you first get the device. After that initial adjustment period, the flickering anymore as the pages turn smoothly and quickly.

As for the flip side of the coin, light source is a necessity for the Kindle 2 as it lacks backlighting. This is a limitation of e-ink technology and affects all e-ink based readers. The latest Sony Reader, the PRS-700, includes external side mounted LEDs to alleviate the problem but the Kindle provides no such solution. If reading in a dimly lit area, you will definitely need a stronger light source. In a fully lit room or in the sunlight however, the Kindle display is perfectly crisp and the glare is minimal making the Kindle 2 a real pleasure to read.

Reading with the Kindle 2

The home screen is where all the fun begins of course. When on the home screen, the menu key provides access to core features including settings, search, a link to the Kindle Store, the experimental applications and the ability to sync your Kindle data and the command to check for new items. Outside the menu, the home screen itself contains a list of all the books on the Kindle. Sorry folks, as most of you Kindle 1 owners already know, the Kindle 2 does not support folders leaving all of your books to sit in one giant list. This might not be a problem for the new Kindle user who may have 5-6 books but watch out experienced veterans; you still have to scroll through your 100+ titles. This is a feature that has been requested a million times and may be added in a future update but don’t count on it. Purchase the Kindle 2 with the knowledge that you cannot use folders to organize your book collection.

When you select a book, you are brought to the beginning of the book if it is your first time opening it and the most recently finished page will appear if you have already begun reading. At the bottom of the page is a progress bar that indicates your location (locations are the digital equivalent of pages) within the book and highlights your progress. A percentage indicator is also present on the left side. Beyond the next and previous page buttons which allow page-by-page navigation, the 5-way controller allows you to jump from chapter to chapter which is a nice feature. Navigation through the book is further simplified by the menu button which provides access to the clickable/linkable Table of Contents, the beginning of the book, a page jump that allows you to go to any page or straight to the furthest page read. The “in-book” menu also lets you create a new note, highlight or bookmark, access your saved notes and bookmarks within a book and search an individual book. Last but not least, you can toggle the wireless off and on, hop to the Kindle store, or start Text to Speech from this menu. All that from one click of the menu button!

The 5-way controller is used to navigate the contents of the page you are on. When scrolling though the text with the 5-way controller, a definition of the selected word appears dynamically at the bottom of your screen – a great convenience when you hit unfamiliar words. The controller can also be used to navigate to and select any links that may be present within the text. The onscreen cursor will switch to a finger when a link is selected and a click of the 5-way controller will bring you to the linked location. Lastly, the controller can also be used to zoom in on images within a page. A zoom icon will appear over the image and a quick click zoom while a second click will zoom back out to the full page.

The Kindle 2 provides several different methods for annotating the text within a book, allowing you to add a note to a portion of the text, highlight a portion of the text or bookmark a page. If you are reading a periodical or a blog, you can also take a clipping of the any section you choose. When a note, bookmark or highlight is added to the text, the Kindle 2 indicates the specialized status of the text by displaying a folded page corner for a bookmark, a superscript number for a note or an underline beneath the text for a highlight. Pretty nifty. Reading a periodical, blog subscription or non-Kindle e-book is similar to reading a Kindle e-book. The overall navigation is the same but you have different menu options that reflect whichever type of content you are reading.

The Kindle Store: Searching, Previewing and Purchasing Books

The biggest advantage the Kindle has over its competition is Whispernet, the wireless connectivity that makes browsing and buying books ridiculously simple. The wireless coverage is provided by Sprint and, depending on your location, can be a high speed 3G EV-DO connection. Why bother with wireless connectivity? To browse and purchase books directly from the Kindle, of course! You can browse books by genre with almost every category broken down into subcategory upon subcategory. You can also view the National Bestsellers list, a new and noteworthy book list and the top Kindle books as ranked by Amazon.

If you prefer a more direct approach, you can search the book catalog using the search field and the QWERTY keyboard. When browsing categories or search results, the books appear in a scrollable list with the book cover, title, author and the review ranking (up to 5 stars) of each book. You use the 5-way controller to move up and down the list and the previous page and next page buttons to advance forward and backward through the list.

Clicking on an individual book will bring you to the the book detail page which has a link to the author’s other available Kindle books, a short list of details and a brief description of the book, the ever important “buy” button, a link to user reviews and finally, a helpful “what others have bought” section. If this book is not what you expect, you can use the search field at the bottom to start over. You can also select to “Try a sample” or “Save for later” if you want to mark the book for further review. The “Try a sample” option is another ingenious idea from Amazon and is present in the Kindle 1 as well. You can liken the experience to sitting in your local bookstore, grabbing a book off the shelf and thumbing through it before purchasing. You lose the ambiance of a bookstore with the Kindle of course, but you retain the ability to try before you buy which is most definitely appreciated. It is also handy if you have 20 minutes to fill and want a quick read.

Once you pick a book that warrants a purchase, buying it is a breeze — it’s almost too easy as a matter of fact. Hit the “Buy” button and Amazon will process the purchase using your Amazon One-Click settings. You do have to log in to your Amazon account using your PC and setup One-Click prior to purchasing of course, but once One-Click is configured, purchasing is a one step, no hassle process. The delivery of the book is equally elegant. In matter of a minute over the 3G connection, your book is downloaded to your Kindle 2 and is ready to read. If you were the proud owner of a Kindle 1, you can also use Whispernet to sync all your previously purchased books to your new Kindle 2 which certainly makes things much easier. Amazon really has captured here with Whispernet, what Apple has captured with the iPhone and its App store. Elegant and easy over the air purchasing.

For those who prefer purchasing books from sources other than Amazon, the Kindle 2 provides several methods for getting non-Amazon content onto your reader. The Kindle 2 supports the Kindle format (AZW), TXT, Audible (format 4 and Audible Enhanced AAX), MP3, unprotected MOBI and PRC natively. No conversion is needed for these formats and the content can be dragged over to your Kindle 2 via USB or sent wirelessly for a fee of $0.10 per item. It also supports PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP but these formats require conversion. Amazon provides an easy to use email-based service for converting these documents to a Kindle 2 friendly format. Basically, each Kindle 2 is assigned a unique email address (“your_kindle”@kindle.com) and you send the item for conversion to this address. Amazon will accept the content, convert it to a Kindle-friendly format and forward it on to your Kindle. It is easy but as you might imagine, it’ll cost you $0.10 per item.

If you need the conversion and don’t want to pay Amazon $0.10 to forward the book to your device, you can instead use your Kindle’s “free” email address (“your_kindle”@free.kindle.com) and Amazon will send the book back to you via email. You will need to connect your Kindle via USB and drag the newly converted content to your Kindle, but for frequent flyers this could save you a bundle in the long run. For security and privacy and purposes you can’t send content from any email, you must pre-designate a list of acceptable email addresses from which content will be sent.

Web Browsing/MP3Player/Text to Speech

The Kindle 2 also comes with a few “experimental” features including a web browser, an MP3 player and the much talked about Text to Speech function. The web browser works but don’t expect a Safari or even Opera Mobile-like experience here. You’re looking at a browser for mobile web sites only, and it’s a bit sluggish and clunky to navigate. Despite its unpolished nature, the browser does work and is convenient if you really need to check out the latest news headlines, read/post to a forum or search Wikipedia. The same applies to the MP3 player. It works and provides decent-quality background music through the small speakers, but don’t fire it up expecting to be wowed.

Last but not least is the Text to Speech function. This experimental feature actually works better than expected. It reads the text back in a computerized voice but does so with surprising clarity and proper enunciation. It is not as “sterile” and “robotic” as expected. It won’t replace audible and all those folks upset about this feature should not be concerned about book lovers opting for the Kindle audio version of a book over the audible version. The Text to Speech lacks the intonations, inflections and drama that a real person reading would bring to a book. Nonetheless, the Text to Speech is quite listenable and is a great accessibility feature to boot.

Overall Conclusion

Kindle 2 PROS:

Whispernet service makes book searching and purchasing a breeze

Kindle 2 is thin, well-balanced with a nice layout of buttons

QWERTY keyboard makes entering text easy and allows for features like note taking and web browsing

Text is crisp and easy to read with minimal glare and the screen refresh is quick

Navigation is easy and intuitive

Kindle 2 CONS:

Device is a bit long due to the presence of the QWERTY keyboard

Side buttons are a bit awkward to press as you have to push the inner edge and not the outer edge of the button

5-way controller can be difficult to use

Cost is a bit prohibitive and you need to purchase a case asthe retail pack does not include one

Overall, the Kindle 2 is a gorgeous looking device that makes digital book reading a joy. For those looking to make the jump into the digital book reading experience, the Kindle 2 is an excellent choice and the experience it provides will be tough to match with a competitive reader. The price tag of $359 is a bit high, especially when you consider the extra $30 you’ll need to shell out for a cover. Never the less, the ability to have all your books on one device and new content accessible via a wireless connection is indispensible and lessens the sting of the high price tag. If you are an avid book reader and have the cash on hand, the Kindle 2 is definitely the way to go. Amazon did a fantastic job and while it might not live up to the hype surrounding its launch, it most definitely came a whole lot closer than we expected.

This would be great, but keep in mind that Amazon has just decided to raise the prices on Kindle books from 9.99. Many have increased over 50% from their original prices. New releases are now often in excess of $15.00 There is currently a grass-roots movement among Kindle users to boycott Kindle books that are priced above 9.99 in order to force Amazon to change its bait-and-switch policy, seeing as they originally sold the K1 based on this $9.99 price point for books. If you want to buy a Kindle, please keep this in mind. If you already have one, please join the boycott.

Witty!

Cool, great review Kelly. I’m thinking I may pick one of these bad boys up. It seems like a solid device, thanks.

http://andrys.com Andrys

Kelly, nice work. Re your remark about no visual comparison of same material for K1 and K2, I’ve posted a photo-comparison using several sources for the comparisons, including online pages as well as the same book on both.

Is it possible to read in the dark without a backlight? Sorry if this seems like an obvious question, but I am curious.

Richard

Everyone keeps calling it a mini-USB port, it is a micro-USB port!

pete

When I think that a Nokia E71 is $289, a Wii is $249, an Asus Eee is $299, and a decent GPS is under $200, does the Kindle seem a bit expensive to anyone else?

http://www.jonnylam.com JL

Given the lack of a backlight, it will probably be as easy to read in the dark as a paper book. That is to say, you will probably need a full moon or night vision goggles.

http://andrys.com Andrys

Pete, when you have 24/7 almost anytime anywhere a Sprint-connected cell phone would work, then, yes it’s worth the money for people who enjoy webbrowsing without having to find a free hotspot.

Kelly, I was able to read your report in detail tonight, and it’s the most thorough review I’ve ever read of the Kindle. And very accurate; that’s not common.

As for web-browsing, I use this feature at stores to check google for the model numbers of something I might want to buy but am not sure it’s a good deal. I add the word ‘review’ to the search, and it has saved me from some firesale purchases that wouldn’t have been wise, quality- or price-wise.

But this 24-hr cellphone-type wireless access is another reason it’s priced at $360.

The Sony PRS700 is priced higher but has no wireless and no Search across the books in your unit. The Search is no small thing. The inline dictionary active while reading is another unique item. I don’t believe Sony backs up your purchases so they can be re-sent to your machine again after you’ve deleted them from your Kindle for space reasons.

The constant Net access capability costs cell phone users $40 to $60/mo. but there’s no monthly or hourly cost charged for the Kindle’s 24/7 access so far. But Bezos has to pay Sprint based on some average estimate of time used.

markn

I find the kindle 2 slippery and hard to hold – there’s nothing to grip onto. I have to be careful not to drop it.

Johnnie

“As for the flip side of the coin, light source is a necessity for the Kindle 2 as it lacks backlighting. This is a limitation of e-ink technology and affects all e-ink based readers.”

Sorry, but this technology is intended to mimic paper (i.e. e-paper). The fact that e-ink can’t or doesn’t use backlighting (a flashlight shining into your eyes) is a positive, not a limitation. Try reading novel for 5 hours from an lcd vs 5 hours from e-ink and tell me which experience causes less eye fatigue and is more enjoyable. I haven’t tried sony’s solution, but a backlight would imo, ruin this product.

Otherwise this was a great review. Much better than that crap review they had on engadget. The entire review was about how the kindle matched up to the iphone.

Travis

I agree with most of your review and am mostly enjoying my new Kindle 2. One exceedingly annoying obstacle that could have easily been avoided is the LACK of WiFi support. Like many people, I live in an area that is right on the edge of Sprint network connectivity. Sometimes I get it, sometimes not and performance is never good. I have a fast Internet connection and WiFi all over the house, though. Why wouldn’t Amazon support BOTH Sprint & WiFi (like the iPhone!)? Not only would this (less than $10 addition) satisfy people like me, it would also enable untethered connectivity to the Amazon store when traveling outside the U.S. What’s up Amazon?

Jesse

I bought one and received it last week along with most people. Overall, I think I am going to find myself reading more. You are paying a premium, but I think it’s worth it.

Derek

Does anyone who has this know how long it takes for an emailed PDF to be converted and emailed back to you? I’m talking about the free conversion, and primarily with books in PDF format, so not much of a worry about images just text. Is it a matter of seconds, minutes, hours, etc? My wife reads an awful lot of online books in PDF format on our desktop PC. She’d likely try to read those on the Kindle instead, but if it takes too long to get them there it would be a definite drawback.

http://andrys.com Andrys

Derek, in my own experience, it’s taken a few minutes. It’s an automated conversion.

I do have it sent to [me]@Kindle.com and for all I’ve sent I have had no 10c fees per file receipt (a zipfile counts as one, they say, but I haven’t tried it) and no one I know of, online or off, has been charged. At one point, a tech support rep said that they had decided not to charge (for the time being).

As long as her PDF files are mainly text and not image-based as in scans, it should be quick.

http://andrys.com Andrys

markn,
I felt as you do, about the slippery (and cold) back of the Kindle 2. I did get an Amazon cover and it’s an unexpectedly fine product, very secure, maintaining the thin lines, left-cover foldable to back with no resistance, and the inside material that you feel with the cover folded back takes care of the slippery and cold sensations. I bought it as a temporary measure but find I like it enough to not care if I don’t get another cover.

James Henderson

The “reset button” at the bottom of the Kindle 2 is not a reset button. It is the charge indicator light. I know because I jammed a pen into it trying to reset it and upon hearing the crunch I realized it is the charge light. To reset the device, you slide the power switch and hold for 15 seconds. It’s pretty darn stupid of me, but just as stupid on the industrial engineers’ part, to put a charge light in a shape and location that is almost universally regarded as a reset button.

Elizabeth

Thank you for this comprehensive review. I only disagree with your “cons” list. I found the 5-way controller to be be very easy to use. I like that it is square (and NOT like a tiny trackball in the middle of man laptop keyboards) and small. It provides enough edge and leverage. This device is phenomenal. Totally intuitive. In a few minutes, I highlighted and annotated text; looked up words; downloaded a book for $1.00. (The appeal of cheap and space-saving access to off-copyright books cannot be overstated. I downloaded the Memoirs of Ulysses Grant. Everyone cites Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Obama’s writing, yet Grant was easily one of the greatest writer-presidents. But I digress.) I used it with ease on the subway–one hand holding the bar or the pole, the other–whether left or right–holding the Kindle 2 and pressing the controls. The one I used had the leather case. It is well worth the money to protect what is a substantial investment. I agree that it would be too slippery to use without it. The case is elegant, pebble-grained leather, which is nicely padded with a soft interior facing the Kindle 2. It easily folds back for one-handed reading. I like the keyboard–I agree much improved over the Kindle 2. I also agree that having to press the inside of the buttons was not my first instinct. I too am an “edge” person. But if that helps stability and avoiding inadvertent turns, then it was a smart move by the product developers. Bottom line in this spring-training season: a grand slam.

http://hippie-n-more.com Robert M.

I liked your review, very detailed and had a lot of insight. On thing I’ve been looking for, as this is my only real problem with the Kindle, is the inability to organize my books. I’ve tried placing them in individual folders on the Kindle, but they still always just show up as a complete list with no indication on-screen of the folders. Which, while not a major thing, is just a bit excessive. If, for example, you have the 1,500 books it says you could easily hold on this, I’d rather a better way to organize my Classics from my Humor for example, as opposed to having to scour through page after page to find all my “humor” books for example. Do you happen to know of a way to organize in this way, or better? The “archive” feature is nice and all, but that just means delete em and let it re-download later, which while an option..is also excessive. Yes, I know you can do filters “All books”, Subscriptions, etc.. but again, if all I have is books, this doesn’t help. If i don’t memorize every author, sorting by Author doesn’t help. This is one feature I hope is there if hidden, or they add in future releases.

http://andrys.com Andrys

Robert, a bunch of us at Amazon’s forums and even more – at the http://kindleboards.com forums – have been discussing ways around this until such time as Amazon provides folders or official tags.

Bufo Calvin recommended a way for us to do this ourselves, and Amazon customer service feels it’s a great idea. Each time you get a new book (and you can do this on Kindle books you already have), open it and and choose to annotate it (we can highlight and annotate easily).

You would put into the entry something that would help you in searches for ‘history’ or ‘romance’ or ‘science’ or whatever genre or category is of interest to you.

HOWEVER, these words appear everywhere, so preface each word or category, in a Search, with a prefix you decide on, such as an ‘x’ …

From the Home page, you would enter, for a search of books matching one of your categories, ‘xhistory’ or ‘xscience’ — and the Kindle would then list for you only books that have entries that match that word. These act as ‘tags’ that you create and use.

Each book could have more than one of these tags. Your search would find the books annotated with that word or ‘tag’ that you entered previously.

I think it’s a great idea and I hope it helps.

If you ever decide to delete an Amazon book from your Kindle, it’s stored in your personal Amazon server area so that you can re-download it at anytime. Since they back up your highlights and annotations associated with the book, you would receive that file also and would be able to use the category tag you had made originally.

towner

Reply..About reading the Kindle 2 in the dark..
Based upon everything I understand from the reading:
No, you will need to have a outboard light source to be able to view the text in the dark or even dimly lite room.

Bob Apples

I received my Kindle 2 about 10 days ago, and I turned it on today and the screen had a big horizontal multi-lined stripe across it. Reset didn’t fix it, Kindle support couldn’t fix it, so they’re sending a new one. Of course this happened right at the start of a 3 day vacation so now I have to go to the bookstore and buy the book I was reading so I can finish it. Damn!

Aside from this complete system failure, I must say the Kindle 2 is a fine reader, but to have it breakdown after 10 days of use makes me wonder just how technologically sound it is.

Roxidawg

Does anyone know what the battery life on the Kindle 2 is? In addition, is the only option to send it back to Amazon to have the battery replaced?

http://kindleworld.blogspot.com Andrys

Bob, that’s very distressing. And at the worst time too.

I’ve heard of it happening to some on K1’s and K2’s both, but I would expect it’s rare. I have 4 friends with Kindles also, and so far we’ve been lucky.

Your problem is obviously a bad e-Ink screen defect. Good luck on the replacement! I would have been really disappointed had it happened to me.

Roxiedawg,
The lithium ion/polymer battery should last for a bit over 2 years (whether used or not, by the way), and this type of battery doesn’t like to be fully drained, and Amazon cautions against it. It’s said to be covered by the one-year warranty. In the Second year (if you don’t buy an added year warranty somewhere — squaretrade.com is one, Amazon’s another), if a battery replacement is needed, we’d have to send them to Amazon to do it and we’d pay $59.

Thank you for the quick response. I’ll take a look at the links. Does anyone know if the extended warranty on the Kindle 2 is necessary and worth the $65.00 investment. I was trying to determine what is actually covered under the extended warranty. I think the concept is great and I’m and avid reader, just trying to justify the cost as it’s a little steep and understand just what I’d be getting for my investment. The biggest issue I see at this point seems to be a battery that’s not replaceable by the user – maybe it’s a non issue and I shouldn’t be concerned? I do wonder how long it takes to actually get it back if you send it in for repair or a battery replacement?

Vi

Roxidawg,

It is a pricy warranty (about a third of the cost of the Kindle itself) but it does have that lovely one-time-drop clause, which (only once, though) covers any accidental damage of your creation ( a drop, ect)

From what I;ve read from reviews, some people have had from incredible to terrible luck; some have managed to drop it from heights of six to eight feet without a scratch or any other kind of damage, others have dropped theirs from a few inches and have experienced total and complete utter mayhem (to read more of these horror stories, go to the Kindle 2 page on Amazon.com and read the lowest ranked reviews).

Also, I’ve read that putting any harsh kind of pressure on the screen itself can result in terrible damage (again, not for all).

But that’s it. Better to have it and not need it and need it and not have it… also, if you purchase with a credit card, see if yours automatically doubles the manufacturer’s warranty; that also might be something to take into consideration before purchasing a warranty.